In a video conference, scalable video coding (SVC) may be used to send compressed video to participating endpoints. SVC includes one or more incremental enhancement layers of compressed video in addition to the compressed video of the base layer (BL). The premise of SVC is that the picture quality rendered at a video conference's endpoint that decodes the BL and at least one SVC layer (SVCL) is higher than at an endpoint that only decodes the BL. The ITU H.264 video coding standard, also known as either MPEG-4 Part 10 or MPEG Advanced Video Coding (AVC), is one of several video specifications provisioned to extend the BL of compressed video with a SVCL. The BL may be considered a common denominator of picture quality, or system default, for the plurality of endpoints in a video conference, and is set at a low bit-rate, such as 128 kilobits per second (kbps), irrespective of whether a higher BL bit-rate can be provided to all the active or participating endpoints during an interval of time. SVC uses a bit-rate in the transmission of the video which is typically lower than the bit-rate of the BL. When SVC's corresponding enhancement layers are decoded at an SVLC endpoint, picture quality is improved via an increase of the decoded picture resolution, picture or frame rate and/or by at least one other improved picture characteristic. A video conference may include SVLC endpoints and BL endpoints. SVLC endpoints are capable of receiving and decoding one or more SVCLs and the BL. BL endpoints are capable of only receiving or decoding the BL. BL endpoints do not decode a SVCL but only decode the BL, while an SVCL endpoint can decode both, the BL and at least one SVLC. Thus, BL endpoints cannot use the enhancement layers and only the BL is used to display pictures. This usually results in a lower quality picture at BL endpoints.